iReel Awards 2019 was held recently at the JW Marriot in Sahar, Mumbai. Netflix's Delhi Crime and actors like Radhika Apte, Pankaj Tripathi and Shefali Shah won big at the awards ceremony.
Web Series
oi-Lekhaka
By Lekhaka
The
News18.com
iReel
Awards
2019,
lauded
and
recognised
the
eminent
makers
and
actors
who
have
redefined
and
brought
about
a
revolution
in
the
web
series
space
at
the
JW
Marriot
in
Sahar,
Mumbai.
The
gala
evening
that
celebrated
excellence
in
the
Indian
homegrown
content
on
OTT
platforms,
was
held
in
the
midst
of
distinguished
artists,
film-makers
and
producers.
Dressed
to
impress
were
Rajkummar
Rao,
Divyendu
Sharma,
Radhika
Apte,
Pankaj
Tripathi,
Rajshri
Deshpande,
Amol
Parashar,
Ranvir
Shorey,
Surveen
Chawla,
and
Aparshakti
Khurrana,
who
upped
the
glamour
quotient
at
the
star-studded
event.
Being
the
pioneer
in
providing
a
platform
that
celebrates
the
plethora
of
pathbreaking
content
in
the
Indian
OTT
space,
the
second
edition
of
the
News18.com
iReel
Awards
proved
to
be
a
bigger
and
grander
affair
than
its
predecessor.
While
there
is
a
plethora
of
award
shows
dedicated
to
toast
Bollywood
stars,
iReel
Awards
is
one
of
those
few
endeavours
that
was
started
last
year
with
the
intention
to
salute
the
new
media
and
the
gamut
of
its
original
entertainment
content.
The
awards
were
judged
by
industry
stalwarts
like
Ashwini
Iyer
Tiwari,
Shakun
Batra,
and
Onir.
News18.com
iReel
Awards
2019
was
brought
to
you
by
official
Radio
partner
Radio
City
&
Ishq
FM,
Outdoor
partner
Minimax
&
JR,
Associate
partner
LIC,
Fashion
partner
Shoppers
Stop,
Auto
partner
Honda
Activa.
It
was
raining
awards
for
Netflix
as
Delhi
Crime,
the
pacey
drama
based
on
the
Nirbhaya
case,
scooped
the
Best
Drama
award,
the
Best
Writing
(Drama)
accolade
as
well
as
the
versatile
and
very
talented
Shefali
Shah
going
on
to
claim
the
Best
Actress
(Drama)
award.
Speaking
on
winning
the
Best
Drama
award,
Delhi
Crime
director
Richie
Mehta
commented,
"This
was
a
story
that
truly
touched
my
heart.
The
unfortunate
event
in
Delhi
and
what
happened
gripped
me
to
an
extent
that
I
got
in
touch
with
a
host
of
officials
in
Delhi
Police
and
the
IPS.
Their
insight
and
perspective
helped
us
get
a
realistic
and
riveting
take
on
an
incident
that
shook
the
nation.
I
thank
them
entirely
for
being
the
reason
for
the
show's
success."
The
highly
appreciated
Sacred
Games
too
added
to
Netflix's
trophy
cabinet
as
Amruta
Subhash
claimed
the
Best
Supporting
Actor
(Female)
award
and
Alokananda
Dasgupta
bagged
the
Best
Music
Award.
In
the
comedy
genre,
Netflix's
Little
Things
2
earned
the
moniker
of
being
the
best
in
the
business
as
they
won
the
Best
Comedy
award.
Proving
to
be
a
jack
of
all
trades,
Netflix
saw
shows
with
a
realistic
backdrop
as
well
as
those
on
the
light-hearted
side
win
accolades.
With
a
dark
underlying
theme
backed
with
a
host
of
well-etched
characters,
Delhi
Crime
made
for
a
riveting
take
on
the
horrific
2012
incident
in
the
capital.
Shefali
enacted
the
role
of
the
protagonist
Vartika
Chaturvedi,
DCP
South
Delhi,
and
delivered
yet
another
path-breaking
performance.
On
the
other
hand,
Little
Things
2
was
a
realistic
tale
of
Dhruv
and
Kavya,
a
modern-day
couple
who
go
through
a
whole
lot
of
ups
and
downs.
Further
accolades
followed
for
the
show
as
Mithila
Palkar
went
on
to
claim
the
Best
Actor
Female
(Comedy)
award.
Winning
plaudits
aplenty
for
his
brilliant
portrayal
as
Kaleen
Bhaiya
in
Amazon
Prime's
Mirzapur,
Pankaj
Tripathi
beat
a
host
of
other
heavyweights
to
claim
the
Best
Actor
(Drama)
award.
Portraying
the
role
of
a
city
don
who
uses
his
legitimate
trade
as
a
cover
for
his
guns
and
drugs
business,
Mirzapur
proved
to
netizens
all
over
that
no
role
is
tough
enough
for
an
actor
of
Pankaj
Tripathi's
calibre.
Speaking
on
winning
the
highly-coveted
accolade,
Pankaj
Tripathi
said,
"I
was
part
of
three
of
the
nominated
web
series
here.
I'm
44,
If
I
had
won
this
when
I
was
30,
I
would
have
broken
down
in
tears
owing
to
the
sheer
jubilation.
I've
lost
that
opportunity."
Rewarded
for
playing
unconventional
roles
that
have
created
new
benchmarks
was
Bollywood
actress
Radhika
Apte,
who
was
presented
the
Breakthrough
Artist
award
by
Rajkummar
Rao.
Speaking
on
accepting
the
prestigious
award
from
Rajkummar
Rao,
she
said,
"It's
such
an
honour
to
have
the
opportunity
to
work
on
a
platform
that
has
today
got
so
much
attention.
We
now
have
the
platform
to
churn
out
much
better
content
over
diverse
genres.
The
best
is
yet
to
come
in
the
web
series
space."
Mirzapur
went
on
to
bag
another
award
as
Divyendu
Sharma
won
the
Best
Supporting
Actor
(Male)
for
playing
Phoolchand
"Munna" Tripathi,
a
spoilt
brat
who
wants
to
follow
in
his
father's
footsteps
and
become
a
mafia
don.
The
Best
Actor
(Comedy)
award
was
won
by
Amol
Parashar
for
his
quirky
portrayal
in
TVF's
Tripling
2,
while
Nikhil
Vijay
for
Gullak
bagged
the
Best
Writing
(Comedy)
award.
Earning
a
reputation
for
their
rib-tickling
comedy
on
offer,
Amazon
Prime's
Comicstaan
2
won
the
Best
Non-Fiction
award.
Speaking
of
the
event,
Puneet
Singhvi,
CEO
-
Digital
&
President
-
Corporate
Strategy
at
Network18
said,
"Growing
from
strength
to
strength,
the
home-grown
web
series
space
in
India
has
displayed
tremendous
amounts
of
innovativeness,
and
brilliance.
Having
started
last
year,
the
News18.com
iReel
awards
has
grown
to
be
a
successful
entity
that
salutes
the
new
media
and
the
gamut
of
original
content.
As
we
celebrate
the
webspace,
I
feel
extremely
happy
that
we,
at
News18.com,
are
the
first
to
honour
and
acknowledge
the
stories
and
storytellers.
This
is
a
medium
that
gives
propels
creativity
to
greater
heights
resulting
in
some
impeccable
piece
of
work
being
created
for
audiences
around
the
country.
It
is
gratifying
to
see
the
country's
finest
filmmakers,
storytellers
and
actors
have
come
together
to
celebrate
the
art
of
storytelling
through
digital
media."
It
was
an
evening
graced
by
the
who's
who
of
the
Indian
web
series
space
that
brought
a
host
of
Bollywood
celebrities,
directors
all
under
one
roof.
It
was
a
night
to
remember
for
the
new-age
artists
who
received
their
well-deserved
awards.
With
the
awards
also
laying
impetus
to
web
series
that
tackle
prevalent
issues
in
society,
there
was
a
special
mention
for
Hawa
Badle
Hassu,
a
science-fiction
environmental
thriller.
Winners
List
•
Best
Drama:
Delhi
Crime
•
Best
Actor
(Drama):
Pankaj
Tripathi
(Mirzapur)
•
Best
Actress
(Drama):
Shefali
Shah
(Delhi
Crime)
•
Best
Actor
(Comedy):
Amol
Parashar
(Tripling
2)
•
Best
Actress
(Comedy):
Mithila
Palkar
(Little
Things
2)
•
Best
Supporting
Actor:
Divyendu
Sharma
(Mirzapur)
•
Best
Supporting
Actress:
Amruta
Subhash
(Sacred
Games
2)
•
Best
Writing
(Drama):
Richie
Mehta
For
Delhi
Crime
•
Best
Writing
(Comedy):
Nikhil
Vijay
For
Gullak
•
Best
Comedy:
Little
Things
2
•
Best
Music:
Sacred
Games
2
•
Best
Non-Fiction:
Comicstaan
2
•
Breakthrough
Artist:
Radhika
Apte.
So,
did
your
favourite
show
or
artist
bag
the
top
honours?
Let
us
know
in
the
comments
below.